Sustainability and End of Life
The environmental figures Newlife publishes for Flexstone — trees, water, plastic, CO₂ and energy — with their sources, plus what happens to the material after use: recycling by milling and waste-to-energy recovery.
By Guangzhou Newlife New Material Co., Ltd. · Reviewed 2026-10-12
Zero trees, zero process water
Flexstone replaces wood pulp with calcium carbonate mineral powder, so no trees are harvested or consumed in production. No water is consumed in the process either: only circulating water is used for cooling, and Newlife states that no wastewater, exhaust or residue is emitted. There is no pulp bleaching step. According to the Flexstone brochure, producing one ton of art paper takes about 20 adult trees and 20–35 tons of water and discharges 20–35 tons of wastewater, while one ton of Flexstone takes 0 trees and 0 tons of process water. These are Newlife's published figures for its own process.
- 0 trees harvested or consumed
- 0 process water — circulating cooling water only
- No wastewater, exhaust or residue emitted (Newlife statement)
- No bleaching
- Vs. art paper: saves 20–35 t water and 20 trees per ton
The published figures and where they come from
Newlife's documents give several comparisons, and each has its own baseline. The Flexstone flyer states that, per ton, replacing art paper saves 20–35 tons of water and 20 trees, and replacing BOPP pearlised paper reduces plastic by 500–650 kg and CO₂ by 2.4–3.5 tons; it also cites a 65% fossil energy reduction compared with PP synthetic paper manufacturing. The wallcovering brochure states that, compared with wood-pulp paper, stone paper production reduces CO₂ emissions by approximately 67%, cuts water consumption by about 97% and uses about 15% of the energy, saving approximately 18 trees and 35,000 litres of water per ton. Quote each figure with its baseline.
- Vs. art paper: 20–35 t water and 20 trees saved per ton (flyer)
- Vs. BOPP pearlised paper: 500–650 kg less plastic, 2.4–3.5 t less CO₂ per ton (flyer)
- Vs. PP synthetic paper manufacturing: 65% fossil energy reduction (flyer)
- Vs. wood-pulp paper: ~67% lower CO₂, ~97% less water, ~15% of the energy (wallcovering brochure)
- Vs. wood-pulp paper: ~18 trees and 35,000 L water per ton (wallcovering brochure)
Recycling used Flexstone by milling
Used Flexstone can be reprocessed mechanically. According to the Flexstone flyer, the material contains no chlorine or plasticizer and does not generate corrosive hydrogen chloride during recycling and milling. After milling it can be blended with a variety of recycled plastic granules and re-manufactured into pipes and other plastic products. Inside the factory, production trimmings are recycled to make new Flexstone material. Practical recycling of post-consumer material depends on local waste sorting and on a recycler who accepts the material, so confirm the route available in your market. The published documents describe recycling and energy recovery as the end-of-life routes and make no biodegradability or compostability claim.
- Mill, blend with recycled plastic granules, re-manufacture into pipes and other plastic products
- No chlorine or plasticizer — no corrosive hydrogen chloride during milling
- Production trimmings are recycled into new Flexstone
- Post-consumer recycling depends on local sorting and recyclers
Waste-to-energy: what happens when Flexstone is burned
Where recycling is not available, Flexstone can go to waste-to-energy plants that burn waste to generate steam or electricity. According to the Flexstone flyer, the material generates only carbon dioxide, water and calcium powder during burning, and no harmful gases or chemicals. The wallcovering brochure summarises this as no toxic gases and no black smoke, and contrasts it with PVC wallcovering, which may release hydrogen chloride and other toxic gases.
- Burning generates carbon dioxide, water and calcium powder (flyer)
- No harmful gases or chemicals; no black smoke (Newlife documents)
- PVC may release hydrogen chloride when incinerated
Flexstone Pellet: the same idea for molded products
Flexstone Pellet applies the limestone-for-petroleum approach to molded and extruded goods. It is made primarily from calcium carbonate compounded with polyolefin resin, with inorganic content above 60%. According to the Flexstone Pellet product brief, it reduces petroleum-derived plastic use by approximately 28% and greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 10%. Products can be mechanically recycled as a single material, and production scrap and trim can be re-pelletized. The PP series has a flexural modulus of ≥20 MPa and a melt flow index of 2–3 g/10 min; the PE series is ≥10 MPa and 5–8 g/10 min. Density is about 1.5 g/cm³, higher than pure PP or PE.
- Inorganic content above 60%
- About 28% less petroleum-derived plastic; about 10% lower greenhouse gas emissions
- Mechanically recyclable as a single material; scrap can be re-pelletized
- Runs on existing injection, blow molding, extrusion and thermoforming equipment
- Density about 1.5 g/cm³ — heavier than pure PP / PE (about 0.9–0.96)